Velocity Vector Field Mapping Using Electrical Capacitance Sensors

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a system and method for velocity vector field calculation at the voxel level of a multi-phase flow system using Electrical Capacitance Volume Tomography sensors.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIVE FIELD

Velocimetry is the process of providing instantaneous velocity vector measurements of a flow in a cross-section or volume. In fluid dynamics, measurements of velocity vector fields are important as it can be used to calculate derivative quantities such as rate of strain, and integral quantifies such as fluxes. Studying fluid mechanics is extremely challenging and complex as it involves interactions on the molecular and particle levels. Non-invasive tools that can help shed a light on flow behavior resulting from such interactions between flow components are very valuable. In many engineering problems, heat and mass transfer processes are strongly controlled by fluid motions. Understanding the fluid motion can help control such processes.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques are often used to simulate flow behavior. However, those simulations do not completely capture the physical world and require a validation method through instantaneous visualization of fluid vector fields, including velocity.

There has been a variety of instruments used for measuring the velocity profile of a flow. For example Particle Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) are two technologies for imaging velocity vector fields. Nevertheless, such instruments suffer from different shortcomings as many of them attempt to predict the velocity profile from following a few tracer particles. Moreover, the applicability of such techniques is often restricted to laboratory environment as used sensors are usually fragile.

Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) has been applied to determine the velocity profile of multiphase flows. In these applications, twin plane ECT sensors were used to measure the velocity by cross-correlation between two 2D images from each ECT plane. However, the velocity profile found by this method is different from true flow velocity which can be quite complicated. This method is often restricted to measuring average velocity of a flow instead of mapping a vector velocity profile. Electrical Capacitance Volume Tomography (ECVT) has also been used to determine the velocity profile of a gas-solid fluidized bed by cross-correlation between successive two 3D images. Though still relying on cross-correlation, the ECVT based velocimetry has been the first successful effort to capture the true flow velocity as it is based on 3D volumetric imaging from which the volumetric velocity profile is calculated. However, cross-correlation of volume images poses two main obstacles: First, it is computationally intensive and cannot be applied for real-time velocity profiling applications. Second, the velocity profile lacks accuracy as any error from the image reconstruction process contaminates any subsequent calculations of velocity profiling based on cross-correlation since the images are used as inputs to the calculation process. The present invention provides a faster and more accurate method for velocimetry needed in many industrial applications.

A novel solution for velocity profile mapping is provided by the present invention. The proposed method is aimed at determining volumetric velocity profile of multiphase flows. It is based on ECVT and Adaptive ECVT (AECVT) sensors and uses the capacitive sensor sensitivity gradient to measure the velocity profile. Unique and salient aspects to this novel approach are: 1) the gradient of sensitivity distribution of an ECVT or AECVT capacitive sensor is used to extract velocity information from successive capacitance measurements directly; and 2) unlike velocimetry based on cross-correlation, the present approach requires only one three-dimensional (3D) reconstructed image. Consequently, the complexity of reconstruction of the present approach to determine the velocity profile is much lower than the cross-correlation velocimetry and similar to that of conventional ECT/ECVT/AECVT permittivity profile reconstruction (i.e., Linear Back Projection and Landweber Iteration).

The main steps of the system and method of the present invention are described as: 1) two successive capacitance measurements are taken from an ECVT or AECVT sensor that surrounds the flow vessel; 2) the time interval between the measurements is determined by the inverse of the frame rate of the data acquisition system; 3) from the capacitance measurements of the first frame, a 3D image is reconstructed using conventional volume tomography (e.g. Linear Back Projection and Landweber Iteration, or neural network based nonlinear technique, etc.) that gives the initial volumetric permittivity distribution inside the vessel; 4) the sensitivity gradient is calculated numerically from sensor sensitivity distribution and voxel dimensions; and 5) then, the data is put together, namely i) the time rate change of capacitance, ii) the initial permittivity distribution, and iii) the sensitivity gradient, with a novel algorithm based on Linear Back Projection, Landweber Iteration, or other commonly used reconstruction methods to yield a 3D velocity profile.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description of the example embodiments refers to the accompanying figures that form a part thereof. The detailed description provides explanations by way of exemplary embodiments. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be used having mechanical and electrical changes that incorporate the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In addition to the features mentioned above, other aspects of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following descriptions of the drawings and exemplary embodiments, wherein like reference numerals across the several views refer to identical or equivalent features, and wherein:

FIG. 1a illustrates a typical 24 electrode ECVT sensor with 4 planes of plates.

FIG. 1b illustrates a sensitivity gradient at the xz plane between an opposite pair of electrodes at two different planes.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the velocity vector field profile calculation and reconstruction.

FIG. 3a illustrates one embodiment of an ECVT sensor with dielectric spheres.

FIG. 3b illustrates initial permittivity distribution in xz plane at y=0, reconstructed with Landweber Iterative method.

FIGS. 4a-d illustrate a velocity vector profile of spheres moving in the x direction.

FIGS. 5a-d illustrate a velocity vector profile of spheres moving in the z direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT(S)

FIG. 1a illustrates a typical 24 electrode ECVT sensor (1) with 4 planes of plates. FIG. 1b illustrates a sensitivity gradient at the xz plane between an opposite pair of electrodes at two different planes. The sensitivity gradient map is obtained by applying a gradient operator to the sensitivity map of the ECVT sensor.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of on embodiment of the velocity algorithm for vector field mapping of velocity at each voxel location. A voxel is a 3D pixel. Pixels are usually used for 2D discretization of a surface, and voxel is for 3D of a volume. Capacitance frames are acquired at different times and used to calculate the time derivative of capacitance from the known frame rate of the data acquisition. Frame is one set of capacitance measurements that are used to reconstruct one image. Frame rate is the number of capacitance sets that are produced by the acquisition system per second. This is also the maximum number of images that can be reconstructed per second, assuming a real-time reconstruction, as each capacitance frame can produce one reconstructed image. A sensitivity gradient is calculated from the ECVT sensor sensitivity matrix. The sensitivity gradient is the rate of change in the sensitivity matrix in the x, y, and z directions; the sensitivity matrix is a spatial map of sensor sensitivity; and gradient is the space derivative of this map. An image is reconstructed from the capacitance data at the first fame. A velocity reconstruction algorithm, similar to image reconstruction algorithms, is employed to reconstruct the velocity vector field at each voxel. The inputs for the velocity algorithm are the capacitance time derivative, the reconstructed image at the first capacitance frame, and the gradient of the sensor sensitivity matrix. Capacitance time derivative is the difference between capacitance measurements from one frame to another over the time difference between the acquisitions of those frames. For example, if Ct1 was acquired at t1 and Ct2 at t2, the time derivative is (Ct1−Ct2)/(t1−t2). (Here Ct1 and Ct2 are capacitance measurements from the same pair of plates but in different time frames.)

FIG. 3a illustrates one embodiment of an ECVT sensor with dielectric spheres indicated as (2) and (3). FIG. 3b illustrates initial permittivity distribution in xz plane at y=0, reconstructed with Landweber Iterative method.

FIGS. 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d illustrate one embodiment of a velocity profile calculated using the innovative technique for spheres (2) and (3) moving with velocities (5) {right arrow over (v)}₂=−0.1â_(x) cm/s, v₃=0.1â_(x) cm/s, (6) {right arrow over (v)}₂=−0.3â_(x) cm/s, v₃=0.3â_(x) cm/s, (7) {right arrow over (v)}₂=−0.1â_(x) cm/s, v₃=−0.1â_(x) cm/s, and (8) {right arrow over (v)}₂=−0.3â_(x) cm/s, v₃=−0.3â_(x) cm/s.

FIGS. 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d illustrates one embodiment of a velocity profile calculated using the innovative technique for spheres (2) and (3) moving with velocities (9) {right arrow over (v)}₂=0.1â_(z) cm/s, v₃=−0.1â_(z) cm/s, (10) {right arrow over (v)}₂=0.3â_(z) cm/s, v₃=−0.3â_(z) cm/s, (11) {right arrow over (v)}₂=0.1â_(z) cm/s, v₃=0.1â_(z) cm/s, and (12) {right arrow over (v)}₂=0.3â_(z) cm/s, v₃=0.3â_(z) cm/s.

A novel solution for velocity profile mapping is provided by the present invention. The proposed method is aimed at determining volumetric velocity profile of multiphase flows. It is based on ECVT and Adaptive ECVT (AECVT) sensors and uses the capacitive sensor sensitivity gradient to measure the velocity profile. U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,614,707 and 9,259,168 are hereby incorporated by reference. Unique and salient aspects to this novel approach are: 1) the gradient of sensitivity distribution of an ECVT or AECVT capacitive sensor is used to extract velocity information from successive capacitance measurements directly; 2) unlike velocimetry based on cross-correlation, the present approach requires only one three-dimensional (3D) reconstructed image. Consequently, the complexity of reconstruction of the present approach to determine the velocity profile is much lower than the cross-correlation velocimetry and similar to that of conventional ECT/ECVT/AECVT permittivity profile reconstruction (i.e., Linear Back Projection and Landweber Iteration).

The main steps of the system and method of the present invention are described as: 1) two successive capacitance measurements are taken from an ECVT or AECVT sensor that surrounds the flow vessel; 2) the time interval between the measurements is determined by the inverse of the frame rate of the data acquisition system; 3) from the capacitance measurements of the first frame, a 3D image is reconstructed using conventional volume tomography (e.g. Linear Back Projection and Landweber Iteration, or neural network based nonlinear technique, etc.) that gives the initial volumetric permittivity distribution inside the vessel; 4) the sensitivity gradient is calculated numerically from sensor sensitivity distribution and voxel dimensions; and 5) then, the data is put together, namely i) the time rate change of capacitance, ii) the initial permittivity distribution, and iii) the sensitivity gradient, with a novel algorithm based on Linear Back Projection, Landweber Iteration, or other commonly used reconstruction methods to yield a 3D velocity profile.

The permittivity distribution relates to the actual distribution of material inside the vessel. Sensitivity distribution is the sensor response to a change in permittivity distribution at different locations inside the vessel. The sensitivity map is constructed for use in inferring permittivity distribution from measured capacitance.

The proposed novel method for velocimetry is best explained based on its mathematical derivation. The sensitivity gradient can be defined as:

$\begin{matrix} {\overset{\rightarrow}{F} = {{\overset{\rightarrow}{\nabla}S} = {{{\hat{a}}_{x}\frac{\partial S}{\partial x}} + {{\hat{a}}_{y}\frac{\partial S}{\partial y}} + {{\hat{a}}_{z}\frac{\partial S}{\partial z}}}}} & (1) \end{matrix}$

where S is the sensitivity matrix, whose elements are function of the spatial coordinates x, y, and z. The sensing domain can be discretized into voxels with dimensions Δx, Δy, and Δz each, which allows one to evaluate the sensitivity gradient numerically as:

$\begin{matrix} {\overset{\rightarrow}{F} = {{{{\hat{a}}_{x}F_{x}} + {{\hat{a}}_{y}F_{y}} + {{\hat{a}}_{z}F_{z}}} = {{{\hat{a}}_{x}\frac{\partial S}{\partial x}} + {{\hat{a}}_{y}\frac{\partial S}{\partial y}} + {{\hat{a}}_{z}\frac{\partial S}{\partial z}}}}} & (2) \end{matrix}$

where F_(x), F_(y), and F_(z) denote the x, y, and z components of sensitivity gradient respectively. Assuming that the capacitance between a pair of electrodes is changed by ΔC as a small dielectric object with permittivity

is moved from voxel A to voxel B separated by a small distance {right arrow over (u)}={right arrow over (u)}_(B)−{right arrow over (u)}_(A). The change in capacitance can be expressed in terms of sensitivity gradient of voxel A as, at first order:

ΔC=({right arrow over (F)} _(A) ·{right arrow over (u)})∈=(F _(x) u _(x) +F _(y) u _(y) +F _(z) u _(z))_(|at)

  (3)

Dividing both sides of (3) by the time interval Δt in which the dielectric object is moved:

$\frac{\Delta \; C}{\Delta \; t} = \left( {{F_{x}\frac{u_{x}}{\Delta \; t}} + {F_{y}\frac{u_{y}}{\Delta \; t}} + {F_{z}\frac{u_{z}}{\Delta \; t}}} \right)_{|{{at}}}$

Defining

$\overset{.}{C} = \frac{\Delta \; C}{\Delta \; t}$

as the rate of change in capacitance, and

${v_{x} = \frac{u_{x}}{\Delta \; t}},{v_{y} = \frac{u_{y}}{\Delta \; t}},{{{and}\mspace{14mu} v_{z}} = \frac{u_{z}}{\Delta \; t}}$

as speeds in x, y, and z directions respectively:

{dot over (C)}=(F _(x) v _(x) +F _(y) v _(y) +F _(z) v _(z))_(|at)

  (5)

Equation (5) states the relation among time rate change in measured capacitance, sensitivity gradient, and velocity at a single voxel filled with permittivity

. This formulation can be used to reconstruct 3D velocity vector field by employing an image reconstruction algorithm.

Let C^(t) ^(1 and C) ^(t) ² be the measured capacitances from an ECVT sensor at time t₁ and t₂ respectively. The permittivity distribution g at time t₁ can be found using conventional volume tomography (e.g. Linear Back Projection and Landweber Iteration, or neural network based nonlinear technique, etc.). Now, the generalized form of (5) can be written as:

{dot over (C)}=(G⊙F _(x))v _(x)+(G⊙F _(y))v _(y)+(G⊙F _(z))v _(z)  (6)

The notations used in (6) are all scalar matrices and can be described as:

Notation Dimension Description Ċ M × 1 $\overset{.}{C} = {\frac{c^{t_{2}} - c^{t_{1}}}{t_{2} - t_{1}}\mspace{11mu} {denotes}\mspace{14mu} {the}\mspace{14mu} {time}\mspace{14mu} {rate}\mspace{14mu} {change}\mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {capacitance}}$ G M × N A matrix with identical rows, each row is essentially the reconstructed permittivity vector g^(T) at time t₁ F_(x), F_(y), F_(z) M × N x, y, and z components of the sensitivity gradient, calculated from sensitivity matrix S v_(x), v_(y), v_(z) N × 1 x, y, and z components of the velocity profile ⊙ Element wise product of two matrices, i.e. C = A⊙B

 c_(ij) = a_(ij)b_(ij) For simplification, defining terms as g_(x)=G⊙F_(x), g_(y)=G⊙F_(y), and g_(z)=G⊙F_(z), (6) can be written as:

Ċ=g _(x) v _(x) +g _(y) v _(y) +g _(z) v _(z)  (7)

To determine v_(x), v_(y), and v_(z) from (7), Linear Back Projection (LBP) can be applied as follows:

v _(x) =g _(x) ^(T) Ċ  (8)

v _(y) =g _(y) ^(T) Ċ  (9)

v _(z) =g _(z) ^(T) Ċ  (10)

This gives a rough estimate of the velocity profile. To get a more accurate velocity vector field profile, other iterative reconstruction algorithms like Landweber can be used.

In another embodiment of the invention, the processing system is programmed with further instructions to: 1) determine second derivatives of the capacitance measurements; and 2) determine a second order gradient of a sensitivity matrix; and 3) determine acceleration vector fields from the second derivatives of the capacitance measurements and the second order gradient of the sensitivity matrix.

In the sensitivity matrix, the capacitance response of all sensor plate combinations to a perturbation of permittivity in a voxels location is recorded. The same process is repeated for all voxels in the imaging domain. The number of entries in this matrix is equal to the (number of voxels)*(number of capacitance readings between sensor plates). The sensitivity matrix in this case is a characterization of a sensor. Velocity is the first derivative of distance over time and acceleration the second derivative of distance over time.

In another embodiment of the invention, an Adaptive ECVT sensor is used to generate the velocity profile of a vessel interior or other object. In one embodiment, the system is comprised of a sensor, comprising a plurality of electrodes configured to be placed around the vessel or other object, each electrode comprising a plurality of capacitance plate segments; a voltage source; a measurement circuit electrically coupled to the sensor; wherein the plurality of electrodes is comprised of: a first electrode, having a plurality of capacitance plate segments that are addressable with the voltage source; a second electrode, having a plurality of capacitance plate segments, the capacitance plate segments of the second electrode electrically coupled to the measurement circuit; and wherein the capacitance plate segments of the first electrode form capacitance pairs with at least one of the capacitance plate segments of the second electrode when activated; and wherein the system is adapted to collect capacitance data by: defining a capacitor by using a capacitance plate segment on the first electrode as a source electrode, using a capacitance plate segment on the second electrode as a detecting electrode, charging and discharging the defined capacitor by directing a predetermined voltage to the source electrode from the voltage source; detecting a capacitance of the defined capacitor by detecting a current induced in the detecting electrode; and a processing system, in communication with the measurement circuit, the processing system programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to: 1) convert detected capacitance data into an image; 2) determine a gradient of sensitivity distribution of the sensor; and 3) use the gradient of sensitivity distribution to extract velocity information from successive capacitance measurements.

The processing system can also be programmed with instructions to: 1) receive two successive capacitance measurements for a first and second frame taken from the sensor; 2) determine the time interval between the measurements by the inverse of the frame rate of the measurement circuit; 3) reconstruct an image from the capacitance measurements of the first frame; 4) obtain an initial volumetric permittivity distribution inside the vessel; 5) calculate the sensitivity gradient numerically from sensor sensitivity distribution and voxel dimensions; and 6) determine a velocity profile from the time rate change of capacitance, the initial permittivity distribution and the sensitivity gradient.

In another embodiment, the processing system is programmed with instructions to: 1) determine second derivatives of the capacitance measurements; and 2) determine a second order gradient of a sensitivity matrix of the sensor; and 3) determine acceleration vector fields from the second derivatives of the capacitance measurements and the second order gradient of the sensitivity matrix.

In the AECVT system, the measurement circuit is preferably adapted to receive current from a plurality of the capacitance pairs of the first and second electrodes and convert it to an output voltage (Vo). The image reconstruction processor is also preferably programmed with one or more software routines executing on the processor to determine volume images from the output voltage (Vo). The output voltage (Vo) is a signal having an amplitude, phase, and frequency and wherein the processor is programmed with one or more software routines executing on the processor to determine the capacitance between the first and second electrodes.

The AECVT system is preferably adapted to control the sensitivity of the sensor by changing the frequency of the voltage distribution applied to at least one electrode. The system is adapted to activate one electrode at a time as a source electrode and one electrode as the detecting electrode, and wherein the detecting electrode is connected to the measurement circuit.

While certain embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above, the scope of the invention is not to be considered limited by such disclosure, and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention as evidenced by the following claims 

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for generating a velocity profile of a vessel interior or other object, the system comprising: a capacitance sensor device comprising a plurality of electrodes for placement around the vessel or the object, wherein the capacitance sensor device is adapted to provide electric field distribution and sensor sensitivity in three geometric dimensions; data acquisition electronics in communication with the capacitance sensor device for receiving input data from the capacitance sensor device; a processing system in communication with the data acquisition electronics, the processing system programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to: 1) reconstruct a three-dimensional volume-image from the input data collected by the data acquisition electronics; 2) determine a gradient of sensitivity distribution of the capacitance sensor; 3) use the gradient of sensitivity distribution to extract velocity information from successive capacitance measurements.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the capacitance sensor device is comprised of at least two planes of electrodes to provide sensor sensitivity in the axial and radial directions.
 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processing system is programmed with an image reconstruction algorithm.
 4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the image reconstruction algorithm is adapted to provide real-time imaging of multiphase flow within the vessel.
 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processing system is programmed to calculate capacitance data from the input data received by the data acquisition electronics.
 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions to: 1) convert a three-dimensional image into an image vector, wherein elements of the image vector are voxels of the three-dimensional image; 2) define a three-dimensional sensitivity matrix related to the image vector and based on geometry of the geometrically three-dimensional capacitance sensor device and a matrix of measured capacitance; 3) compute a volume image vector using a reconstruction algorithm selected based on the three-dimensional sensitivity matrix and matrix of the measured capacitance; and 4) convert the volume image vector to the three-dimensional volume-image.
 7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions to: 1) receive two successive capacitance measurements for a first and second frame taken from the capacitance sensor; 2) determine the time interval between the measurements by the inverse of frame rate; 3) reconstruct an image from the capacitance measurements of the first frame; 4) obtain an initial volumetric permittivity distribution inside the vessel; 5) calculate the sensitivity gradient numerically from sensor sensitivity distribution and voxel dimensions; and 6) determine a velocity profile from the time rate change of capacitance, the initial permittivity distribution and the sensitivity gradient.
 8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions to determine the velocity profile based on Linear Back Projection, Landweber Iteration, or other commonly used reconstruction methods.
 9. The system according to claim 7, wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions to determine the velocity profile in real-time.
 10. The system according to claim 7, wherein the capacitance sensor is an adaptive ECVT sensor and wherein the system is adapted to provide higher resolutions of velocity vectors.
 11. The system according to claim 7, wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions to: 1) determine second derivatives of the capacitance measurements; and 2) determine a second order gradient of a sensitivity matrix of the sensor; and 3) determine acceleration vector fields from the second derivatives of the capacitance measurements and the second order gradient of the sensitivity matrix.
 12. A system for generating a velocity profile of a vessel interior or other object, the system comprising: a capacitance sensor device comprising a plurality of electrodes for placement around the vessel or the object, wherein the capacitance sensor device is adapted to provide electric field distribution and sensor sensitivity in three geometric dimensions; data acquisition electronics in communication with the capacitance sensor device for receiving input data from the capacitance sensor device; a processing system in communication with the data acquisition electronics, the processing system programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to: 1) receive two successive capacitance measurements for a first and second frame taken from the capacitance sensor; 2) determine the time interval between the measurements by the inverse of frame rate; 3) reconstruct an mage from the capacitance measurements of the first frame; 4) obtain an initial volumetric permittivity distribution inside the vessel; 5) calculate a sensitivity gradient; and 6) determine a velocity profile.
 13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the system is adapted to determine the sensitivity gradient from sensor sensitivity distribution and voxel dimensions.
 14. The system according to claim 12, wherein the system is adapted to determine the velocity profile from the time rate change of capacitance, the initial permittivity distribution and the sensitivity gradient.
 15. The system according to claim 12, wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions to determine the velocity profile based on Linear Back Projection, Landweber Iteration, or other commonly used reconstruction methods.
 16. The system according to claim 12, wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions to determine the velocity profile in real-time.
 17. The system according to claim 12, wherein the capacitance sensor is an adaptive ECVT sensor and wherein the system is adapted to provide higher resolutions of velocity vectors.
 18. The system according to claim 12, wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions to: 1) determine second derivatives of the capacitance measurements; and 2) determine a second order gradient of a sensitivity matrix for the sensor; and 3) determine acceleration vector fields from the second derivatives of the capacitance measurements and the second order gradient of the sensitivity matrix of the sensor.
 19. The system according to claim 12, wherein the velocity profile is a 3D velocity profile and wherein the image is a 3D image.
 20. The system according to claim 12, wherein the capacitance sensor is a three-dimensional capacitance sensor.
 21. A system for generating a velocity profile of a vessel interior or other object, the system comprising: a sensor, comprising: a plurality of electrodes configured to be placed around the vessel or other object, each electrode comprising a plurality of capacitance plate segments; and a voltage source; a measurement circuit electrically coupled to the sensor; wherein the plurality of electrodes is comprised of: a first electrode, having a plurality of capacitance plate segments that are addressable with the voltage source; a second electrode, having a plurality of capacitance plate segments, the capacitance plate segments of the second electrode electrically coupled to the measurement circuit; and wherein the capacitance plate segments of the first electrode form capacitance pairs with at least one of the capacitance plate segments of the second electrode when activated; and wherein the system is adapted to collect capacitance data by: defining a capacitor by using a capacitance plate segment on the first electrode as a source electrode, using a capacitance plate segment on the second electrode as a detecting electrode, charging and discharging the defined capacitor by directing a predetermined voltage to the source electrode from the voltage source; detecting a capacitance of the defined capacitor by detecting a current induced in the detecting electrode; and a processing system, in communication with the measurement circuit, the processing system programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to: 1) convert detected capacitance data into an image; 2) determine a gradient of sensitivity distribution of the sensor; 3) use the gradient of sensitivity distribution to extract velocity information from successive capacitance measurements.
 22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions to: 1) receive two successive capacitance measurements for a first and second frame taken from the sensor; 2) determine the time interval between the measurements by the inverse of frame rate; 3) reconstruct an image from the capacitance measurements of the first frame; 4) obtain an initial volumetric permittivity distribution inside the vessel; 5) calculate the sensitivity gradient numerically from sensor sensitivity distribution and voxel dimensions; and 6) determine a velocity profile from the time rate change of capacitance, the initial permittivity distribution and the sensitivity gradient.
 23. The system according to claim 22, wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions to determine the velocity profile based on Linear Back Projection, Landweber Iteration, or other commonly used reconstruction methods.
 24. The system according to claim 21, wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions to determine the velocity profile in real-time.
 25. The system according to claim 21, wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions to: 1) determine second derivatives of the capacitance measurements; and 2) determine a second order gradient of a sensitivity matrix of the sensor; and 3) determine acceleration vector fields from the second derivatives of the capacitance measurements and the second order gradient of the sensitivity matrix.
 26. The system of claim 21, wherein the measurement circuit is adapted to receive current from a plurality of the capacitance pairs of the first and second electrodes and convert it to an output voltage (Vo).
 27. The system of claim 21, wherein the processing system is programmed with one or more software routines executing on the processing system to determine volume images from the output voltage (Vo).
 28. The system of claim 26, wherein the output voltage (Vo) is a signal having an amplitude, phase, and frequency and wherein the processing system is programmed with one or more software routines executing on the processing system to determine the capacitance between the first and second electrodes.
 29. The system of claim 21, wherein the system is adapted to control the sensitivity of the sensor by changing the frequency of the voltage distribution applied to at least one electrode.
 30. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is adapted to activate one electrode at a time as a source electrode and one electrode as the detecting electrode, and wherein the detecting electrode is connected to the measurement circuit. 